Saturday's game vs KC began a bit rough. Onstad's foot saved us an early deficit.
From 15 minutes on, we took control of the match and it looked like we'd generate enough opportunities to get a goal. Indeed, Ngwenya would have probably gotten the first goal had he not been mauled from behind by Nick Garcia. When I was playing soccer as a youth, I had a team mate who got his leg broken by an overzealous scissor tackle inside the box, much like the one Ngwenya suffered. Ngwenya didn't get off the shot, Dynamo didn't get the penalty, and Ngwenya (luckily) didn't seem to be injured. The only thing we got out of the ordeal is a Yellow for Ngwenya (dissent after the fact) and a general idea as to how the the ref (Ramon Hernandez) would call the match.
This was the first time the ref had officiated a Dynamo match. Let's hope he improves before the second time.
As is the norm, despite carrying the play and generating the threats from 15 minutes on, we couldn't get the ball into the net. The Wizards could. A few seconds past the 45-minute mark, a Harrington-Sealy-Johnson passing thread got them their goal against the run of play. We were way too loose on Sealy, the lynch pin on this play. Cochrane came forward to pressure Harrington, and Mullan let Sealy slip through for the through pass. Ianni slid over, but Sealy got the ball to Johnson who one-touched it into goal. Just like last week, Barrett was there, sliding only moments too late.
The second half continued the Orange-tilting game. DDR, playing more as a forward, was having one of his better games this season. He was moving the ball, finding his mates, taking the shots. Just before the 70th minute, E-Rob intercepts a pass in our defensive third. He slides a forward pass to D-Ro, who then dribbles through the middle third while the KC defenders retreat. Ngwenya runs to the left, then cuts back to the right. D-Ro splits two defenders with his pass and Ngwenya, pressured by his marker, one-times the ball into the net.
This was an outstanding play, and very well timed. I just wish all of our finishing could have been this crisp. In the first half Mullan has a direct shot sent wide left, and D-Ro has a shot from about 8 yards out go into low earth orbit. We'd get a lot more goals for ourselves if we'd just put our shots on frame. I know that ain't easy sometimes, but sheesh!
Taking away the first 15 minutes (which didn't hurt us) and the 2-3 isolated threats on our net (only one of which hurt us), it was the Dynamo's game to win. Skill, heart, and teamwork were in our favor, but finishing was not. For the second week in a row we take only 1 of the available 3 points. That one point may prove big later...but the lost 2 points could also prove big in a bad way.
Here's a simple listing of the current top 7 teams, the points they have, the number of games they've played, and the number of points still available to them (3 x remaining games)
Team / Pts / GP / PA
D.C. United / 42 / 22/ 24
New England / 42 / 23 / 21
Houston / 39 / 24 / 18
New York / 36 / 23 / 21
Chivas USA / 36 / 20 / 30 - 1 game left vs Dynamo
FC Dallas / 36 / 22 / 24 - 1 game left vs Dynamo
Kansas City / 33 / 24 / 18
The most disturbing fact is that we have only 18 points available to us, while Chivas USA (a mere 3 points behind us) has 30 points available to them. Furthermore, the teams ahead of us also have more than 18 points available to them.
Bottom line: we need just about every one of those 18 points to ensure we distance ourselves from the other contenders for the Supporters' Shield. If we fail to get the Shield, we need to (1) be one of the top 4 teams so we can be invited to SuperLiga (this will also require us to get a majority of those 18 points) and (2) win the MLS Cup so we get the recognition of being the MLS champions and so we get the invite to the CONCACAF Champions Cup (with only a few more points we can probably secure our position in the playoffs, and then it's just a matter of winning our way through the MLS Cup tourney).
To get those points we're going to have to score more goals. Hopefully our guys get healthy over the next week so we can field a rested and recuperated lineup to face RSL next Saturday. We also need DDR to continue improving his form; tonight was a good indication of what he can do, but we need more.
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3 comments:
The ref nearly ruined the game, and he was abetted by the ARs who called too many imaginary offsides when we had great beads on goal. They need to remember it depends on where the attacker is at the time the ball is last touched by a team mate, not where the attacker is a few seconds later. Great job Fox Soccer Channel for never having a camera lined up so we can see the offside line in the replay! American TV needs to learn that not all action takes place on the ball, so every camera shouldn't be pointed at the ball.
Like you, I still hate Max Bretos' call when a goal is scored. How is it? "Yeahaaaaaarggghh!" or something like that?
On the replay the goal was even more impressive. We were 2v4, and Dero still made magic happen, taking 3 of the players out of the play. That's what we need for the rest of the season!
I agree with the suckage this ref demonstrated - he made the tired phrase, "Hey Ref, you're missing a great game!" terribly apropos.
I also hate the horrible camera work. Maybe Fox should hire a European camera tech to come over here and teach these guys how to properly film a soccer game.
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